Methods of and apparatus for automatically deboning meat and obtaining meat from poultry legs and thighs have been proposed by patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,649, U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,210, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,116. While these automated processes have performed in the past with some degree of success, the mechanical complications and the necessary financial investment have put these processes within reach of only the largest meat processing industries.
Accordingly there has been a growing demand for an automated process that is reliable, simple, cost-effective, and economically feasible also for relatively small sized meat processing industries at the same time.
Hence it is an aspect of the present invention to propose an improved method of automatically removing meat from an animal or poultry extremity that includes first and second bones articulated by a joint and surrounded by said meat. In a more general sense it is an object of the present invention to at least overcome or ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art. It is also an object of the present invention to at least provide alternative processes and structures that are less cumbersome in use and which can be provided and used relatively inexpensively. At any rate the present invention is at the very least aimed at offering a useful choice and contribution to the existing art.